Traditional automatic pulp forming technology may typically consist of one suction filter forming station and one high temperature drying station. The completion of one forming cycle of a suction filter forming station may be less than 5 seconds, but the drying time is typically substantially longer. Consequently, traditional suction filter forming station may be idle for more than half of the time of the forming process. At least one operator is required per machine per shift, resulting in low unit output per labor demands. Prior expedients have been proposed which combine multiple drying stations with a single forming station. However, improvements in the construction and operation of such equipment are needed in order to optimize their efficiency and reliability.